For the past twenty-five years, no franchise in the Big Three sports has compiled a worse record on the field of play than the Los Angeles Clippers.

No franchise in the Big Three was more an afterthought in its hometown than the Los Angeles Clippers.

No franchise in the Big Three played in a more substandard facility.

No ownership had less compunction over its intention to treat the franchise as nothing more than a buy-and-hold asset, one of whose primary objectives was low overhead.

In short, the Los Angeles Clippers were empirically designed to lose.

It wasn't a curse, or even the result of bad trades and bonehead drafts made by clownish GMs. No.

The Los Angeles Clippers were built for losing. By design.

But then something strange happened. They stumbled into something:

They managed to steal an undersized 22-year-old second year power forward from Chicago. A likeable family boy who personified everything right about competition -your classic first-there-last-to-leave gymrat who would spend hours practicing a 15-foot face-up jumper by rote.

And he was theirs.

Prior to his arrival, they picked up another Duke product from Chicago's West Suburbs - an absolute machine of an athlete who, with a little offensive tutelage, could become one of the Association's great slashers.

They cultivated this pair with a revolving door of raw talents, and finally found some compliments in a 7-foot ambidextrous center with the footwork of a ballerina and a stringy 6'7" point guard who controlled the floor with a joystick.

Then, they did the unthinkable - added the ballsiest, mouthy veteran in the league and another Team Gymrat member -- a shooting guard of moderate talent, but a high basketball I.Q. Throw in the feral defender who can also do the manual labor in your offensive sets and you've got an accidental recipe for success.

Breaking up this group would be like bulldozing an orphanage to make way for a Wal-Mart.

Even this owner has a threshold for shame. It's low...but it exists. For this, we're eternally grateful.

Tomorrow, a couple of observations on tonight's win. Enjoy tonight.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

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Comments

Please don't break up the clippers. If I weren't a lifelong pistons fan, I would IMMEDIATELY switch allegiance to the clips.

shaun livingston is my favorite young player period, you can't knock elton brand at all, corey maggette is great when healthy, kaman is already one of the best centers in the game and still getting better.

Congratulations Kevin -- anyone can like the Clippers when they are on top of the world. It takes a true fan to stick with them, and blog about them, even when things are not at their best. They are lucky to have you.

"MVP-MVP-MVP" - Clipper Nation. By the way, Nash really does seem like more of the MP3 than MVP of late... though its as much his teamates who are 'dying by the three'.

"This isn't BASEBALL!" - Kevin and John. Yes... the WAVE once again. At least it wasn't during a V-rad free throw.

NOW CAN WE TALK LA vs LA
1. Hope the Suns can stretch the series.
2. Show up to the game. There were AT LEAST 3-4 sections EMPTY at last nights game! Come on people, this is PLAYOFF ball!
3. If the Lakers try to pound it vs the Clips, they can't handle EB and the Caveman
4. If the Lakers try to go Kobe-show, Kobe don't know Q/Cat/Corey.
5. And Lamar Scrodom can well... let's not 'reach' for that one.

but now, what the hell is going on in the clipper locker room? Doug Christie asks to be let go? The dude has a 10 day contract. This is dunlevy. The problem with the clips isn't lack of talent and it aint xs and os..it's something in the locker room, it's tone. it's maggs vs. baldy. But is that it? what is really going on in there that's destroying this team a game and a player at a time...and is it the coach's responsiblity?

04/12/08 02:04:44

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